Organization: The Breadline, Inc.
Title: Production Chef/Chef Instructor
Nominated by: Marisa Peña, Program Manager
In the seven years that Chef Liann has been a production chef for the Bread Line, she has made over 100,000 delicious meals for Tanana Chiefs Housing First, gone to college, hosted countless cooking demos & free Community Meals at the Southside Community Market (while serving on their board of directors), started her own food truck (the one & ONLY “Tots Proper”), worked with Calypso Farm‘s Community Roots & Indigenous Agriculture programs, and taught in our Stone’s Throw culinary job training classes, all while raising her six incredible kids.
Chef Liann usually starts her day planning out the weekly menu for contract meals. This involves using a weekly rotating menu as well as utilizing any donated food into ready-to-serve meals that are nutrient-rich and delicious. What follows is hours of kitchen production, packaging meals, writing out menus and reheating and serving instructions for the staff at Housing First. Depending on the time of the year, aside from contract meal production, Chef Liann also teaches Stone’s Throw students and youth participants of Community Roots program, prepares even more meals for Chef at the Market cooking demos and Community Meals. She does all this while answering emails, serving on the Board of Calypso Farms, doing community outreach, running a small business and being a supermom driving back and forth for pickups, drop-offs and various school and extra curricular activities for her wonderful children.
Chef Liann has a genuine passion for food and helping the community. She is always making connections with individuals and local organizations to expand Bread Line’s reach and work towards the organization’s mission of “feeding people and affirming lives”. Chef Liann will often take on more production work without hesitation when she hears about local organizations losing their food service funding for families and especially children. For example, she recently took on the responsibility of making the Thanksgiving meal for the Boys & Girls Club, adding 250 to 300 more meals to her production schedule. Chef Liann is also a strong supporter of local food producers and farmers and often showcases their produce and products in the meals she makes.
Chef Liann plays an integral part in the success of the Stone’s Throw Culinary programs in her role as Chef Instructor. Having graduated from the program herself, she provides a unique perspective that allows her to establish trust and a genuine connection to Stone’s Throw students. She designed a curriculum for the Life Skills portion of Stone’s Throw called “Story of Self” in which she helps students establish their goals after they graduate. As Production Chef, Liann produces over 10,000 contract meals per year to Housing First. Her partnership with Calypso Farms and the Southside Community Farmers Market helped expand the Community Meals program from a monthly program that provided hundreds of free meals in 2023 to a weekly program that provided over 4,000 free meals this past summer. Chef Liann’s outreach efforts have even attracted local chefs which allowed them to be involved in the meal services at South Side Community Farmers Market.
Chef Liann attended a Train the Trainer workshop at FareStart back in 2018, when she was just starting in her role with the Breadline, Inc. More recently in November of this year, Bread Line hosted the NW Regional Summit for Catalyst Kitchens. Chef Liann was one of the panelists (along with 3 local farmers) who presented, sharing her knowledge and expertise with visiting staff from all around the country. We hope she remains a leader and integral part of the Catalyst Kitchens community for years to come.
SPECIAL ALERT!
Thanks to a generous donation from a founding Catalyst Kitchens board member and friend of David Carleton, the Catalyst Kitchen’s Founder’s Fund has an opportunity to raise matching funds up to $5,000 during this year’s Catalyst for Change Award Season!
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Here are the 2024 Catalyst for Change. As you read their stories, consider supporting the work of Catalyst Kitchens and our members, enabling the amazing impact of frontline staff like our nominees.
